Our Eagles grades by position after (nearly) a quarter of 2022 season

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Our Eagles grades by position after (nearly) a quarter of 2022 season

 

Last year, the NFL added a 17th game with little regard for my love of symmetry.

That means that the quarter mark of the season technically will happen after the first quarter in Arizona on Sunday.

But since we’re pretty close, let’s take a look at position-by-position grades from the first four games of the season. The Eagles are 4-0 and still have plenty of room for growth. It could be a very fun season.

This is a scientific process following a very unscientific one. I hand out letter grades to each Eagles position group after each game and then I simply plugged them into this grade calculator (weighing all games equally) and there we have it.

Let’s see what these positions have done four games in:

Quarterback

Grades by game: A-, A+, A, B+

Jalen Hurts: 82/123 (66.7%), 1,120 yards, 4 TDs, 2 INTs; 53 attempts, 205 yards, 3 TDs

Hurts has been spectacular through four games. I gave him a B+ in that last game because his numbers weren’t great and his pick-6 was a big blunder. That’s the only reason he has that minus next to his A and, in hindsight, I don’t feel great about that. Hurts deserves to have an A through four games. He’s a legitimate MVP candidate. Last year, it felt like the Eagles won games with Hurts as their quarterback; this year they’re winning games because he’s their quarterback.

Grade: A- (3.83)

Running back

Grades by game: A, B+, B-, A+

Miles Sanders: 72 attempts, 356 yards, 3 TDs; 8 rec, 35 yards

Through four games, Sanders has stayed healthy and is averaging 89.0 yards per game, which puts him on a pace to go over 1,500. Sanders is averaging 4.9 yards per attempt and has been the player the Eagles know he is when he’s healthy. We’ll see how this continues but the early results are very promising. The Eagles have also gotten some contributions from their other backs, but Sanders is really carrying this position, which is how the Eagles drew it up.

Grade: A- (3.58)

Receiver

Grades by game: B+, A+, A+, B+

A.J. Brown: 25 catches on 38 targets, 404 yards, 1 TD

Brown has been the superstar the Eagles expected and he’s their best all-around receiver in a really long time. He’s off to a fantastic start. But it’s not just all on Swole Batman. Skinny Batman, DeVonta Smith, has had his moments too with an 89-yard game and a 169-yard game. That’s what makes the Eagles so dangerous. If defenses want to double Brown, so be it; they’ll get the ball to Smith. Quez Watkins and Zach Pascal aren’t the stars but they’ve done some nice things too as the No. 3 and 4 receivers. They have combined for 8 catches for 108 yards.

Grade: A- (3.83)

Tight end

Grades by game: B, A, A, B+

Dallas Goedert: 16 catches on 20 targets, 240 yards, 1 TD

While Jack Stoll, Grant Calcaterra and Noah Togiai have seen snaps on offense, Goedert is finally the No. 1 tight end and he’s playing like it. Zach Ertz was an all-time great Eagle and Goedert is never going to touch his record for receptions in a season, but Goedert offers so much more after the catch. He’s a walking big play waiting to happen. Through four weeks, Goedert leads the entire league in YAC/reception with 12.8 per catch.

Grade: A- (3.58)

Offensive line

Grades by game: B+, A-, B+, A+

Early in the season, we saw a few too many penalties from this unit and that hurt their grades. But make no mistake: This is still the strength of the entire team and the OL is crazy deep. The Eagles rushed for over 200 yards against the Jags with two backups in there by the end. Their star player has been Lane Johnson, who is a brick wall at right tackle and is playing better than ever. And 34-year-old Jason Kelce isn’t slowing down either. He can still do some amazing things getting to the second level.

Grade: A- (3.58)

Defensive line

Grades by game: C-, B+, A+, A

Haason Reddick: 12 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 3 FF, 2 FR, 2 TFL

That opener was a rough game for the defensive line as they were gashed by the Lions’ rushing attack. But since then, the scheme has switched up a bit and this unit has stuffed the run and has attacked quarterbacks. Reddick has been everything the Eagles hoped he’d be and has come on really strong the last couple of games after a slow start. Having a line with Reddick, Josh Sweat, Javon Hargrave, Fletcher Cox, Jordan Davis, Brandon Graham and more is scary. Even after the loss of Derek Barnett, this unit is still very good and deep.

Grade: B+ (3.33)

Linebacker

Grades by game: C, A, A, A

T.J. Edwards: 33 tackles, 25 solo tackles, 3 TFLs, 2 sacks, 2 PD

Like the DL, the linebackers got off to a shaky start in Detroit. But since then, the duo of Edwards and Kyzir White rarely leaves the field and they’re both playing at a high level. Early on, we thought we’d see some Nakobe Dean but we haven’t. That’s not a negative for him; that’s a positive for Edwards and White, who have been too good to take off the field. Edwards leads the team in tackles with 33 and White is second with 23.

Grade: A- (3.50)

Secondary

Grades by game: B, A+, A, A

Darius Slay: 2 INT, 5 PD, 8 tackles

The Eagles just have really good players in their secondary and it starts with their cornerback trio of Slay, James Bradberry and Avonte Maddox. It’s still pretty incredible to think that the Eagles were able to land Bradberry so late in the process. Bradberry has two picks and Maddox has one. Those three have all five of the Eagles’ interceptions. It’s helped them have the No. 7 pass defense in the NFL. At safety, Marcus Epps has been really solid and C.J. Gardner-Johnson is figuring out his new position, getting better by the week.

Grade: A- (3.83)

Special teams

Grades by game: B+, B, B-, B+

Jake Elliott: 4/5 on FG, 13/14 on PAT

The weakest spot on this team has been special teams. Elliott has been fine but Arryn Siposs has been a tad shaky. And the return units have yet to get much going. They also had a muffed return and a blocked field goal. They haven’t been awful but the weak link on what might be the best team in the NFL.

Grade: B (3.08)

Coaching

Grades by game: C-, A+, A, A

Record: 4-0

Hard to argue with a perfect record. I didn’t like the game plans in Detroit because the Eagles took their foot off the gas on both sides of the ball, but since then it’s hard to find fault with the offensive staff or the defensive staff. Nick Sirianni and Shane Steichen’s offense has been humming and Jonathan Gannon’s defense has been hunting. It’s been a fun product to watch.

Grade: A- (3.50)

https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/eagles/eagles-grades-position-after-quarter-2022-season